TEACHERS AND STAFF

Abnet Asnake is a graduate of California College of the Arts with a BFA in Illustration. She utilizes a variety of recycled materials to create two- and three-dimensional art objects. She also teaches Visual Thinking Strategies to address logistical and conceptual design issues. Ms. Asnake has participated as a resident artist at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Christopher Castle is a British-born artist and composer. His paintings and prints focus on human relationships to place and nature. He works with community groups and schools to create art that enables individuals to express their own stories. Mr. Castle's work is represented in public collections including: the British Museum (London), the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), the Scottish and Welsh National Museums (Edinburgh and Cardiff) and in private collections worldwide.

Kym Cortigiano is a teaching assistant and intern for Kala's Artists-in-Schools program. Her teaching experience with inner-city youth in New Haven and Philadelphia enables her to effectively facilitate Kala's school-site programs. Ms. Cortigiano is also a working photographer.

Jamila Dunn acts as coordinator for Kala's Artists-in-Schools program. She brings curriculum development and teaching experience from a number of museum education programs at Seattle Art Museum, The Children's Museum (Seattle), and Honolulu Academy of Arts. Ms. Dunn holds an MA in Art History and Curatorial Studies and a BA in Studio Art and French.

Mariana Garibay is currently a resident artist at Kala. Through painting and printmaking, Ms. Garibay combines images of natural and urban landscapes. Her work has been exhibited throughout the Bay Area and Mexico. She has taught at Mission Grafica, Richmond Art Center, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Steven Holloway is an award-winning artist and a professional mapmaker. His curriculum includes: "The Art of Observation" a hands-on course focusing on visual language and cartography. His personal and professional work explores new ways of mapping through listening and direct contact with the earth. Mr. Holloway is currently a resident artist at Kala. He holds a Masters degree in Geography.

Archana Horsting is the co-founder and Executive Director of Kala Art Institute for 33 years. She founded the Artists-in-Schools Program and continues to direct and oversee its growth. Her background includes curriculum development and instruction in the visual arts and drama. She has taught master classes for the California Arts Education Association and Kiddo in Marin. Ms. Horsting holds a BA with Honors from UC Santa Cruz. She also completed post-graduate work at Atelier 17 in Paris.

Purnima Jha is an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer and master teacher of Kathak, Indian classical dance. Her students acquire an understanding of rhythm, movement, and storytelling. She was a visiting scholar at the Center of Asian Studies at UC Berkeley and a faculty member at the East Bay Center for Performing Arts. In 1998, Ms. Jha was awarded the National Intellectual Honor of India for lifetime achievement in the performing arts.

Katherin McInnis is a multi-media artist with an MFA from California College of the Arts. Ms. McInnis teaches a variety of media including animation, collage, and ceramics, sculpture, and photography with an emphasis on technical skill and imaginative thinking. Her video work was exhibited at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

James Morgan has been teaching students at Emery High and Peralta Elementary Schools since 2000. Working in the classroom since 1984, Mr. Morgan received several commissions to create public mural projects with young people. Mr. Morgan earned a BA in Classics from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts.

Carmen Gonzales Murray has taught elementary school continuously for the past forty years. During that time she instructed multiple-subjects in public and private schools in the US and in Department of Defense schools abroad. Ms. Gonzales Murray continues to strengthen her teaching skills through diverse professional development programs such as Harvard's Project Zero, Bay Area Math Project and Bay Area Writing Project, and Teachers' College Writing Project at Columbia University. She acted as a Math mentor for Orinda Schools and as an educational consultant for CORE (Consortium on Reading Excellence) in Emeryville.

Laurie Polster is a nationally exhibiting artist with an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and twenty-three years teaching experience. Ms. Polster is a multi-media artist who teaches painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and art fundamentals. A former Artist-in-Residence at Kala, Ms. Polster also received the Critics Circle Award for scenic design and she serves as a board member of PRO ARTS in Oakland.

Lolly Watanabe is a working artist with a BFA in painting and an MFA in sculpture from San Francisco Art Institute. She is an experienced teacher and a founding faculty member of the East Bay Science and Arts Middle School. Ms. Watanabe has a strong interest in American and international Folk Art and shares her interest by teaching Batik, Handmade Paper, Basketry, Paper Marbling, and Ceramics.

Susan Wolf is a credentialed K-12 teacher and mixed-media artist currently in residence at Kala. Ms. Wolf works collaboratively with Abnet Asnake and the community of children and teachers at Anna Yates School in Emeryville to develop, design, and execute a variety of projects including: murals, mosaic planters, totem poles, banners, and gateways.

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